Undercover(15)

The Familial representatives made her nervous and suspicious. She didn’t like the way they watched her with Brandt or the way they scuttled around the ship. Yes, she knew she had issues with the Walker Family, but this was more than that. She’d been wary at first, but now she was convinced they were up to something.

One positive was that they seemed to completely write her off as a nonthreat, because while they had watched her and Brandt, they spoke as if she weren’t even in the room.

“Ash, your uncle is concerned about your lack of interest in remarrying. There are suitable matches for you, and yet when they’ve been proposed, you refuse them all.” One of the representatives sneered down his nose at Ash.

“You can tell my uncle the exact same thing I do: I’m not interested in another match made by anyone but myself. I did my duty at great personal cost. Kira has married back into the family. Our future with the Pelas is secure.”

Sera admired her own very fine acting, because she wanted to hurl her drink across the room, and no one even detected her rage. Instead she sat serenely, looking at the vid screen against a far wall playing various nature scenes. All the while she imagined kicking the representative who’d spoken in his testicles.

“Yes, but there are other Families who have eligible daughters to marry. It’s not seemly to have a Walker of your age running about, frittering away his future. You need to get married and produce heirs.”

Sera heard the click of Ash’s jaw locking from across the table. If there was ever an intractable man, it was Ash Walker when he clenched that jaw of his. She knew if she turned to Brandt she may well start to laugh so she took a drink and continued to act as if she were bored.

“It is not up to you what I do or don’t do, Representative. I will produce heirs when I’m ready. In my own time. You and my uncle have no say about it.”

“Be that as it may, Ash, we, that is, your Family, want you to make better choices about the woman you choose this time.”

Brandt leaned forward. “Are you maligning my sister, gentlemen?”

Oh big whoop, his sister was a coldhearted, shallow bitch. Every time Sera had seen an interview with Kira, she’d felt even more horrified Ash had chosen her instead. And then the infernal cow had dumped Ash for someone else! It might have been a sort of poetic justice, but really, the woman was too much. Not that Sera was biased or anything.

“Oh no! Of course not, Brandt. Your sister was eminently suitable for Ash. No, we refer to the woman he’d been cohabbing with before his marriage to Kira. A lowborn woman of a wholly unsuitable nature. No better than a whore. Ash’s family wants to be sure there will be no repeat of his request to marry any such unsuitable candidates.”

Sera had to hold on to her glass tightly but not break it. She ignored the ping over the link. She couldn’t hear them right then, or she’d lose it. Concentrating on not shattering the glass was the only thing that kept her from jumping on the representative and snapping his neck.

“You’ll never, ever say such a thing about her again. Do you understand? She was not a whore. She was a good, kind woman who worked hard and earned everything she ever received. You have exhausted my hospitality, and I will ask you to keep to your quarters until you disembark tomorrow morning on Nondal. You will tell my uncle to keep his nose out of my business and my bed. I will not have this discussion with you or him again. Now, get out of my sight before I toss you out the door in between portals.” Ash’s voice was low and deadly, sending shivers down Sera’s spine.

“Now see here!” The representative stood up, sputtering with indignation. Slowly, Ash unwound his body, standing and leaning toward the representative. The other one grabbed his compatriot’s arm and pulled him from the room.

Ash sat back down with a long exhale.

He’d asked his family for permission to marry her. He’d been telling the truth about that part. Her hands trembled, but the pings stopped for the moment as each of them realized she couldn’t deal with it right then.

Ash turned to her, and that pale blue gaze met hers. “I apologize that you were exposed to such vulgarity.”

Brandt sat quietly next to her, his body sending out warmth.

Sera nodded. “I understand, Ash. They want the best for you.”

He shook his head vehemently. “I had the best, and I had to give it up. My life has been empty ever since. I made the choice I had to make to save hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in our universes who needed that union   between Families. But I don’t have to do that anymore, and I won’t.”

Speechless, Sera’s mouth was dry as he pushed his chair back and stood. “Good night, both of you. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Brandt stood as well. “Shall we retire for the evening? I’m sure you’re quite tired and would like to sleep.”

She saw in his face that he was giving her an out. Right then, though, she needed his strength as an anchor, to hold her steady in the tide of emotions running through her. She needed to feel a hand around her throat and the command in his voice.

“Well, I think we should retire, but I’m not ready to sleep just yet. Perhaps you can help me get sleepy.” A slow smile curved her lips.

She’d been staring into his eyes, so she saw his pupils grow so wide it was hard to tell where the pupils stopped. Deep, dark eyes looked back at her, eyes filled with intent.

“If you say so, I should endeavor to serve just such a purpose.” He bowed slightly, and they walked rather quickly back to their rooms.

When the door closed behind them, it clicked into place. Reaching back, she untied the ribbons holding the top of her gown together, and it fell away from her upper body, leaving her breasts and torso bare. A tremor of need passed through her, rendering her light-headed at the intensity of it.

She wasn’t sure when it happened to her. When her attraction and like of him had turned into a craving. She’d readily admitted to herself she wanted to fuck him, but this depth of desire to have him inside her was shocking. His mouth opened and closed a few times. She could tell he struggled with his feelings, too.

“Take me.” Her voice was a whisper as she leaned back against the door for support. “Please.” She’d been hiding in Sela, letting Sela be the one who needed him so much, but she couldn’t hold the illusion any longer. The eyes that pleaded for his touch were Sera’s.

He raised a brow, asking her with a look if that’s really what she wanted. In answer she undid the side of the skirt and let the gown fall to the ground in a pool of blue silk at her feet. Reaching up, she pulled the pins holding her hair loose, letting the curls tumble free. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she walked toward the bedroom.

She fell to her knees at the foot of the bed and waited, hands clasped in her lap. She’d not done that, naked anyway, since Ash. Brandt would have his own rules, she was sure, but it seemed a safe enough place to start.

It felt right there, kneeling for him. Her submission, which had seemed so foreign in the last years after Ash, fit her again. Molded to her form like a glove. There was no discomfort, no unease or fear in it. Sera wanted to gift him with her submission, wanted to abandon herself in the sweetness she hadn’t felt in a decade. Wanted to feel sub-space again.

This man who stalked toward her, intent plain on his face, had been very careful with her since she’d joined their team. He’d protected her from Ash’s temper and behavior and had gone out of his way to make all of this all right for her. He’d incrementally seduced her into submission, waited for her to be ready to give it instead of him having to take it. His kindness, his patience, his respect for her attracted and touched her deeply.

So she’d kneel and see what he did with the power. The rest could be negotiated as they went. She wanted to please him, and she’d handle her feelings when the mission ended. She wasn’t going to think about it right then when her pussy was slick and swollen and ready to be fucked. She needed the strength of his dominance to help her through the revelations of the evening.

He halted in front of her. His hands sifted through her hair and down her neck. “Are you sure you’re feeling well, Sela?” he murmured.

“Yes.” She met his eyes, letting him know she understood what she consented to.

“Let’s begin then. Before you suck my cock, I’d like you to help me get undressed.”

“May I stand to do that?”

A visible shiver ran through him, and the remembrance of the intensity of power a submissive had over her Dom crashed into her, made her glow with adoration and desire to please. Craving more.

“It pleases me that you’re asking. Yes, you may.”

Standing, she moved to him. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, leaning in to kiss his chest as she exposed a bit more skin. Her hands skimmed over his chest and down his arms as she pushed the shirt from his body. Quickly, she folded it and laid it across a nearby chair before coming back to him.

He was beautiful. She’d certainly noticed that in their time together up until then, but she hadn’t really examined him as closely as she’d wanted to. Moving behind him, she pressed herself against his back, the heat of his skin burning into her. Her cheek rested on the muscle there as she breathed him in.